This invention relates to a scroll compressor and an air conditioner using the same and, in particular, to a scroll compressor which has a simple structure and which can be installed in a horizontal position, and to an air conditioner using a scroll compressor which is advantageous in terms of space saving and reduction in size and which is suitable for attaining an improvement in reliability and efficiency.
Scroll compressors have recently come to be employed which, due to their structural principles, are advantageous in reducing vibrations and noise in compressors. However, due to limitations regarding the oil feeding structure, etc., most of them are of a vertical-installation type.
To reduce the height of the refrigerating unit or to minimize installation space, it is more advantageous for the compressor to be installed in a horizontal position. A structure to meet this requirement is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 64-87894.
In view of the space limitations in houses in relation to the demand for air conditioners, a reduction in size and noise and an enhancement in performance are required. Further, an improvement in their appearance is also regarded as significant.
A technique has been proposed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2-169938 to meet these requirements and, in particular, to attain a reduction in size of the outdoor unit.
Refrigerating machine oil is generally sealed in a compressor in order to ensure the requisite reliability of the sliding parts thereof and to make the temperature distribution inside the compressor uniform. The refrigerating machine oil is mixed with refrigerant gas, and the viscosity of the refrigerating machine oil in the mixed state is lower than in the non-mixed state. Thus, to ensure a level of viscosity high enough to maintain the requisite reliability, the amount of refrigerating machine oil is inevitably determined by the amount of refrigerant gas sealed in.
The prior-art technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 64-87894, mentioned above, is excellent in respect to the oil feeding structure when installed in the horizontal position. However, to ensure the requisite amount of refrigerating machine oil while preventing the oil surface from being disturbed by the rotor of the motor, the longitudinal dimension of the closed container must be large. Thus, although this prior-art technique helps to achieve the object of reducing the height of the refrigerating unit to a low level, it is not regarded as satisfactory in terms of reducing the installation space required.
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2-169938, mentioned above, includes a machine chamber provided below the heat exchange chamber. Its blower for sucking in outside air is a mixed-flow fan, and a panel having blowout holes through which air can be blown out from the circumference of the unit body, is provided in front of the mixed-flow fan. Arranged in the machine chamber are electrical parts and the compressor, the structure of which is not disclosed in the specification.
In this outdoor unit, the blower consists of a large-size mixed-flow fan, and the compressor consists of a standard horizontal-installation-type closed electric compressor. Further, the panel in front of the fan has air passages for leading the air flow from the mixed-flow fan to the circumferential portion of the unit body. Thus, the structure of this outdoor unit is rather complicated, no sufficient consideration being given to efficiency in blowing. Also, this outdoor unit is not regarded as satisfactory in respect to reducing the size and simplifying the structure of the out-door unit.